She Likes to Watch

The same director who smeared us with blood in the “Saw” series now provides us this year with another display of carnage. “Death Sentence,” directed by James Wan (the movie is based on a novel by Brian Garfield, the author of “Death Wish”), is a pathetic attempt to show the agony of a family man with a nice suit when he’s thrust into a gang underworld.

Kevin Bacon — playing Nick, the unfortunate white-collar executive — loses it after a loved one is killed in a gang initiation ritual. After his first taste of brain-rattling revenge by way of a sloppy premeditated murder, Nick turns bloodthirsty for kids in hoodies. He not only turns wacko but seems to get more emotional every time he realizes it. Through his many desperate attempts to get back at the gang, Bacon’s character demonstrates repeatedly what a bad action scene really looks like. A friend of mine at the screening actually yawned at one of these scenes and said, “This movie’s really annoying.” He thought the ideas presented by James Wan were banal and had no impact on him whatsoever, which I thought was ironic considering the intentions a director would likely have while putting together such a storyline. I doubt that “boring” was the reaction Wan was striving for.

During certain scenes in the movie the gang-related action would cool down, and the camera would fixate on Nick having some time alone, leaving the audience literally face-to-face with an insane man — still in his nice suit — crying for minutes at a time. This, as my companion complained, quickly became irritating and annoying. This may have been an attempt to garner sympathy for this man, but while the cause of the character’s grief and instability is understandable, the way the movie shows how he deals with it through these close-up scenes is asking for ridicule.
Don’t waste your money.

— Anya Rossa-Quade

Anya Rossa-Quade, a junior at Arroyo Grande High School, loves to write and watch films with her friends.

I don’t want anyone to think I’m a dork or anything, but you know that song “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins? That’s a pretty catchy tune.

I was just listening to it online, and I found myself really wanting to cut a rug, Kevin Bacon-style, right here in my cubicle. Of course, I didn’t because, you know – that’d be pretty dorky. But in my head I imagined the dance, which ended with me knocking a tape recorder, a Rolodex and three empty Dr. Pepper bottles off my desk in a frenzied finish.

The reason I’m even thinking of “Footloose” is because I recently read that there’s going to be a remake of the film, starring Arroyo Grande’s own teen sensation, Zac Efron.

Efron told Access Hollywood that he is slated to play Ren McCormick, the Chicago teen who moves to a small town where dancing and rock music are illegal. (Egad!) Efron will reprise the role that made Bacon famous (Well . . . aside from “Friday the 13th,” that is.).

Efron is, of course, on a roll, as we recently reported in a Ticket cover story. Right now he’s actively promoting both “Hairspray,” currently in theaters, and “High School Musical 2,” which will initially air Aug. 17.

Efron, 19, is regularly featured in newspaper and magazine stories, including the current Newsweek, which has a somewhat cynical angle on the “HSM” cast. (In this era of Lindsay Lohans, I guess it’s hard to believe a cast of young adults can’t be in rehab.)

Next Tuesday, Efron will appear on the “Tonight Show” with Jay Leno. And Efron will be featured in “Rolling Stone” next month.

In a recent interview with the Tribune, Efron acknowledged he’s on many magazine covers these days. But he doesn’t think too much about it.

“I just laugh,” he said. “That’s all I can do is laugh. You can’t believe that you’ve gotten so lucky and people are interested enough to put you on a magazine.”

Even though he’s on a path to superstardom, he still hasn’t succumbed to the circling-the-drain lifestyle that fellow Disney alum Lohan has experienced. Even though the Newsweek article was skeptical, those who know him say Efron resembles his wholesome, Disney image.

Maybe part of it has to do with growing up on the Central Coast.

“I consider myself sort of a small-town boy,” Efron said. “For a while I felt like a fish out of water in L.A . . . I have to wait in hours of traffic and park next to 40 other cars, take an elevator to my modest apartment in the Valley. It’s so different than being home.”

It’s sort of fun waiting to see what he does next. Until then, all I gotta say is: “Everybody cut, everybody cut . . .”

–Pat P.